Pascale Sherwin stole designer clothes and jewelry from her employers

Apr 25, 2014 12:09 GMT  ·  By

Nanny Pascale Sherwin was caught stealing from her employers' home after they had discovered pictures of her wearing missing clothes and jewelry on Facebook.

Parents Becki and Bradley Cannings began to be concerned when they realized that expensive items, like designer clothes, earrings and bracelets were gradually vanishing from their home in Exeter, Devon. They set up secret cameras and turned into detectives after various of their missing possessions were spotted by Mrs. Cannings' mother on the social media site.

The 23-year-old nanny had looked after the couple's 2-year-old daughter Olivia from the age of six months, and they considered her as “one of the family,” so they were very disappointed when they realized she was the culprit.

“Every week random things were going missing. It really started getting to me and I thought I was going mad. It did not add up. I started to make a list and realised just how much was going missing,” Becki said, according to The Telegraph.

The couple took the pictures to the police, but they were told more evidence was needed, so they set up five cameras in their house to catch Sherwin in the act. And it didn't take them long, as they only captured three days of footage. The material exposed Sherwin's bad habit of sneaking clothes and jewelry out of the house.

When they started viewing the footage, the couple thought they would have to fast-forward a lot, but, to their surprise, within five minutes they saw the professionally trained nanny stealing a cardigan and putting it in her bag.

“On each of the three days she stole from us. We allowed her to build a relationship with our daughter and be part of her everyday life. This was the ultimate betrayal,” Mrs. Cannings added. “I feel stupid but I never once considered it would be her. She had become part of the family. I have never felt so violated and my whole world came tumbling down.”

When police searched Sherwin's home in Exeter, they found around 50 items of clothing and a stash of stolen jewelry.

The kleptomaniac nanny pleaded guilty to theft at Exeter Crown Court. Judge Erik Salomonsen said her actions were a serious offense because the whole situation involved a breach of the trust which the couple had vested in her. Sherwin was ordered to do 200 hours unpaid community work and showed no signs of regret for her acts.